Disability and Communication Access Board
State of Hawaii
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Emergency Preparedness E-News
for People with Disabilities and other Access and Functional Needs
May/June 2012 Issue 25
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| Greetings!
Hurricane season begins today, June 1, 2012 and continues until November 30, 2012. Hopefully, you have your emergency go kit ready and in a place you can get it quickly to respond to an emergency. Many of the emergency management and response agencies are currently involved with Makani Pahili this first week in June. This is the annual hurricane exercise conducted by Hawaii State Civil Defense to ensure that agencies are prepared to respond to the community in the event of a hurricane.
DCAB's emergency preparedness activities continue to focus on planning and collaborating between agencies to bring three (3) trainers to Hawaii to conduct a train-the-trainer and FAST development workshop to establish the Functional Assessment Service Teams (FAST) program in Hawaii. The FAST program has been established in a few other states, such as California, Minnesota, and Missouri. This issue is a call to volunteers in the community to come and participate in the workshop scheduled on June 19 and 20, 2012. Please see the article in this issue about the FAST program.
The Emergency Preparedness E-News is written to keep the community aware of issues and events related to emergency preparedness and individuals with disabilities and special health needs. Please feel free to send DCAB information that you would like to have included in a future issue. We look forward to hearing from you. Aloha,Debbie JacksonPlanner |
Hawaii FAST Training
 The Functional Assessment Service Team (FAST) is a new concept that was developed in California in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was apparent that the same possibility for a disaster could happen in California and that preparation to shelter thousands of disaster victims was insufficient.
The same is true for Hawaii. There are not enough shelter spaces for all residents of Hawaii to be safe in an evacuation shelter, so an interagency working group was established in the Fall of 2005 to begin planning and preparing for equal access for individuals with disabilities and special health needs (now referred to by FEMA as people with access and functional needs - PAFN) in the event of an emergency that requires people to go to an evacuation to a shelter.
FAST was developed to provide staff to conduct functional assessments of PAFN who are in shelters. This assessment evaluates the needs of PAFN and determines whether or not the person can be supported and continue to stay at a general population shelter. FAST will be deployed to a shelter as it is opened and remain in the shelter until it is determined the team is no longer needed. At that time, the FAST may be transferred to other shelters and may return to shelters as needed or requested.
The role of the FAST is to conduct assessments of individuals and facilitate the process of getting essential resources needed by the PAFN. Equipment may include durable medical equipment (DME), consumable medical supplies (CMS), prescribed medications or a person to assist with essential activities of daily living.
A FAST consists of trained government employees and community-based organization personnel (CBO) ready to respond and deploy to disaster areas to work in shelters. FAST will work side by side with shelter personnel and other emergency response workers to assist in identifying and meeting essential functional needs so the PAFN can maintain their health, safety and independence during disasters.
The Hawaii FAST Planning team invites you to participate in the train-the-trainer session that is scheduled for June 19-20, 2012. The local community has much to offer and we would like to include community members who are knowledgeable about disability issues (i.e., parents of children with disabilities), chronic health conditions (i.e., public health nurses), physical disabilities (people who use wheelchairs or have family members who use wheelchairs), people with developmental or intellectual disabilities (also, parents or family members of someone who has an intellectual disability), people who are knowledgeable about hearing and vision loss, retirees from emergency management agencies, and individuals who are retired. If you have knowledge in any of these areas and would like to use them to benefit the community, please come and join us.
We hope each county has representatives at this training. DCAB has funding to pay round trip airfare for three (3) individuals from each county. The application deadline is extended until June 6, 2012 in order to accommodate more individuals from each county.
To request an application or if you have a question, contact Debbie Jackson at (808) 586-8121 or e-mail debbra.jackson@doh.hawaii.gov. The application is to obtain knowledge about your area of expertise, not to disqualify anyone from the training.
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Maui County Disaster Expo
 On Saturday. June 2, 2012 there will be a Maui County Disaster Expo from 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. at the Queen Kaahumanu Center. The Expo is sponsored by the Pacific Radio Group, Maui County Civil Defense Agency and Maui County Health Volunteers.
Presentations and exhibits available to the public at the Expo include the following (presentations will be repeated from 12:15-2:00 pm):
10:00 "Volcano and Earthquake Hazards in the State of Hawaii"
Presented by Jim Kauahikaua, U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
10:30 "Hawaii's Hurricane Threat: Get Prepared"
Presented by Mike Cantin, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Weather Service
10:45 "Community Preparedness begins with YOU!" Anna Foust, Maui County Civil Defense and Marsha Tamura, State Civil Defense
11:00 "Expert System for Retrofitting Post and Pier Structures" Presented by Don Thomas, UH Hilo.
11:15 "Strengthening Your Home" Presented by Tim Waite, Simpson Strong-Tie.
11:30 "Homeowner's Handbook to Prepare for Natural Disasters"
Presented by Dennis Hwang, Faculty, University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program
11:45"Protecting your Home with Flood Insurance"
Presented by Carol Tyau-Beam, State National Flood Insurance Program Coordinator, Department of Land and Natural Resources
12:00 "What does Hurricane Insurance Cover? A look at Hurricane Insurance vs. Home Insurance vs. Flood Insurance"
Presented by Cullen Hayashida of the Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs, Insurance Division
For more information visit www.MauiReady.org.
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Where to go on Big Island
 The following article was published in the West Hawaii Today on March 23, 2012.
"Hawaii County, Civil Defense has designated a number of facilities as hurricane shelters. In case of a hurricane, announcements will be made listing which shelters are being opened. Residents should identify two to three shelters within close proximity of their home. West Hawaii's evacuation sites include:
North Kona
Holualoa Elementary, Kahakai Elementary, Kealakehe Elementary, Kealakehe Intermediate and Kealakehe High schools.
South Kona
Honaunau Elementary, Hookena Elementary, and Konawaena High schools
Ka'u
Ka'u High and Pahala Elementary schools
Hamakua
Honokaa High and Intermediate and Kalanianaole Elementary schools
North Kohala
Kohala High and Elementary and Kohala Middle schools
South Kohala
Waikoloa Elementary, Waimea Elementary, Waimea Middle schools and the Waimea state office building.
Pets will be allowed at Kealakehe High, Konawaena High, Honokaa High and Intermediate, and Ka'u High and Pahala Elementary schools.
Evacuation site openings will be announced on Big Island radio and television stations. Residents should evacuate to the nearest shelter if they live in low-lying coastal areas, ridge lines exposed to strong winds, low-lying areas subject to flooding, and in wooden or lightly constructed buildings, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense.
For more information, or a complete "Hurricane Preparedness Guide," call Civil Defense at 935-0031 or visit hawaiicounty.gov/civil-defense."
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Contact Information
Disability and Communication Access Board
919 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 101
Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone: (808) 586-8121 (V/TTY)
Fax: (808) 586-8129
E-mail: DCAB General Delivery
Web site: DCAB Home Page County of Hawaii: 974-4000, ext. 6-8121# Couny of Kauai: 274-3141, ext. 6-8121# County of Maui: 984-2400, ext. 6-8121# Molokai & Lanai: 1-800-468-4644 , ext. 6-8121# |
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